Earth holder for funeral services



Aug. 20, 1935. H. s. GORDON EA RTH HOLDER FOR FUNERAL SERVICES Filed Feb. 15, 1934 HM? MMW Mzw .a sliding cup employed.

Patented Aug. 20, 1935 b {1..(zezre EARTH HOLDER FOR FUNERAL SERVICES HarryGordon, Utica, N. Y.i 5

My invention relates to an earth holden for' funeral services and I declare the following to be;

a full, clear, concise and exact description thereof sufiicient toenabl'e' anyone skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,

reference being had to the accompanying draw ing in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the specification.

The object of the invention is to provide an earth holder used particularly by ministers of the gospel inthe committal service for the dead. The device .can be carried in the pocket of the user and easily extracted therefrom at the time of committing the body to the grave when the minister pronounces the words Earth to and ashes to ashes.

Moreover the device is arranged to securely hold the sand orearth therein until it isemptied at the time above suggested. Heretofore some earth trouble has been experienced in devices of this. nature due to the leaking out of the sand or earth I while the container is in the users pocket. This defect is acco-mpanied'with the inconvenience oi. necessitating the emptying of the users' pocket from time to time of the sand or earth that has accumulated therein. i

Furthermore, the device is designed to allow the sand or earth to-flow freely from the container without clogging when the sand is needed.

deviceembodies a'cylindrical casing or tube l preferably of such dimensions that it can be' placed easily in a persons coat pocket and with- 1 The object will be understood by referring-to the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the device showing parts in full.

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing a perspective of Referring more particularly to the drawing, the

drawn therefrom at will. The upper-interior part of container I is serrated at 2 to aid the fingers in holding the container in a firm manner.

Both ends of the cylindrical container l are.

closed by members now to be described. The top part 3 from which the sand flows is enclosed by a yieldingly'mounted spherical ball l. Ball i is used to avoid any sharp corners. It is held temporarily on its seat against the upper edge 3 of container 1 by the following mechanism. A

rod 5'is screw threaded at .6 to ball 4.: Rod 5 projects downward through the central part of container 5. Its lower end is fastened permanently by brazing, soldering or otherwise to the be-r18. i

with respect thereto.

I lApplieaticn Februaryfi 1934,.SerialNo. "fin-058a A Cla inis.1(C1Q722l+62) inner end surface Iof theslide cup closing 'mem-- Member 8 has' a sliding fit within 'cylindrical contain-er Itsouter end surface has. vent apertures 9 therethrough to preventair pressure when pushing said member 8 inward with respect to cylindrical casing I..

A chamber is for-holding .sand is formed in the upper part of container iby a disk partition I l which is attached permanently to the inner surface of container i by brazing or other- In operation, the user first opens chamber in by pressing on endsurface I of member ii'to' oifseat ball 4 and thereby give access to said chamber.

He then fills it With'sand or earth. The device Y is carried in the pocket. At the proper time the. minister takes it from his pocket and, grasping the upper serrated portion 2 with his-thumb and forefinger, pushes with one of hisxother fingers on the outer end surface I of cup 8, whereby to raise ball 4 off its seat. This movement of'ball 4 will'allow the sand or earth to be poured freely out of chamber Hlof container I.

An ,annular'edge l6 prevents "the movement of cup "8 from sliding beyond a predetermined limit within cylindrical container I.

When chamber Ii! is emptied and'the pressure on surface 1 of member- 8-is Withdrawn ball 4 will under the force of. I

automatically reseat' itself coiled spring'l5.

Having thus described -my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat- .ent is as follows:

.1. In an earth holder for funeral services, a container for holding sand, a ball shaped member for closing one end of said container, a cup member for closing the otherend of said container, a rod engaging said ball shaped and cup members whereby the movement of the one will effect the movement of the other, a partition member mounted in said container and a. spring mounted on said rod between said partition and cup members, whereby to hold the ball shaped member in closed position.

2. In an earth holder for funeral services, a 7

container for holding sand, a partition member mounted in said container, whereby to form separate chambers therein, a ball shaped member for closing one end of said container, a sliding member for closing the other end of said container, a rod connecting said ball shaped member and said sliding member, whereby the movement of the one will cause the movement of the other, and a spring mounted upon said rod between said partition and cup shaped members, whereby to hold said ball shaped member in closed position.

3. In an earth holder for funeral services, a cylindrical container having open ends, a partition member mounted in said cylindrical member for dividing it into separate chambers, a ball shaped member for closing one end of said cylindrical member, a sliding cup mounted in said cylindrical member, whereby to close the opposite end thereof, a rod connecting said ball shaped and sliding cup members, whereby the movement drical member,

of said cup shaped member will effect a like movement of said ball shaped member, a spring mountto aid in sealing said partition member, a ball shaped member for closing one end ofrsaid cylina sliding cup mounted in said cylindrical member, whereby to close the opposite end thereof, a rod connecting said ball shaped and sliding cup members, whereby the movement of said cup shaped member will efiect a like movement of said ball shaped member, and a spring mounted upon said rod between said partition member and said sliding cup member, whereby to. yieldingly hold said ball shaped member in'closed position.

HARRY s. GORDON. 

